


I regret to inform you,

by Taxonamie



Series: Hellsing Revamp [3]
Category: Dracula - Fandom, Hellsing
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Arthur has his own trauma, Post-death drama, and handles it by avoiding and sabotaging his responsibilites, too bad Alucard won't let him do that
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-01
Updated: 2019-12-01
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:33:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,422
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21627649
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Taxonamie/pseuds/Taxonamie
Summary: WIP snippet of my ongoing series.After Abraham van Helsing passes, the visitors and funerary obligations drive a deeper wedge between Alucard and Arthur van Helsing. One visitor in particular--Abraham's estranged brother Isaac.
Series: Hellsing Revamp [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1034940
Kudos: 11





	I regret to inform you,

**Author's Note:**

> This is part of a much larger WIP. If you're confused, check the end notes!
> 
> Comments get a gold star and five brownie points!

\-----------------------------------------------

Alucard opened the door. In the doorway stood an older man, still spritely. He had a familiar nose, and the smile was painful as the light spilled onto his face. It was early in the evening. Alucard had paid the cab company ahead of time for this man’s delivery, anticipating his late arrival. He had been expecting him, and had heard the car when it had entered the grounds. 

"You must be Isaac," Alucard said coolly. 

"Yes, hello, I’m Dr. van Helsing, er, the elder, heheh. You are the butler I presume?"

"I am Master van Helsing's ward and physician."

"Yes, well, take my coat, will you? This English rain is dreadfully unpleasant, I don't know  _ how _ my brother stands it." 

Alucard did not move to accept the coat, and it fell in a wet heap onto the ground.

"Ah, pick it up, boy!" 

Alucard closed the door and began to walk up the stairs, ignoring Isaac and his coat entirely.

"Master van Helsing passed yesterday evening. Young Master Arthur can entertain you."

"Oh, I'm sorry to have missed him.” Isaac picked up his sodden coat, grunting with the effort of bending over for it, and placed it on the coat rack by the door. “ I always wished to see him again."

Alucard did not entertain his lie.

“This way.”  
“Help an old man with his luggage?”

Alucard took a fortifying breath, and conceded. He picked up Isaac’s suitcases They were noticeably light, as if he meant to be bringing things back to the Netherlands with him.

“Strong man, heh--”  
“Don’t touch me,” Alucard said, intercepting Isaac’s hand with a glare before it touched his shoulder. “This way to the room you’ll be staying in.”

“You are a friendly fellow,” Isaac said.

“At times.”

.

.

.

After depositing his luggage and a quick visit to the facilities, Alucard led Isaac to the study, where he knew Arthur was reading.

"Yes, hello, Arthur, so good to finally meet you! Alas that it is in such unfortunate circumstances."

"Er, hello, um," Athur stumbled.

"Isaac van Helsing, your uncle," Alucard said.

"Oh? Oh! Hello there, my father told me about you!"

"Ha ha! All good I hope!"

Judging by Alucard's subdued snarl, his uncle Isaac had already made some unforgivable sin.

"I was about to pour myself a nightcap, care to join me?"

"I must say, you are a friendly young man, nephew! When I met this dour face at the door I was worried that you would be as dreary as the rest of this poor country! Yes please!"

"You must forgive Alucard, he is," Arthur tried to make up a feasible lie. "Protective of the estate, and of my father. Especially now that he has passed."

“Ah, well it’s hardly a surprise, I imagine there are all sorts of unsavory folks who rise out of the woodworks when a man as influential as my brother passes on.”

“I imagine so,” Alucard echoed coldly. Isaac jumped, having somehow forgotten he was there. His brandy splashed a little onto his hand.

“Ah, damn. Oh, excuse me. Er, Alex, was it? Get a towel, would you?”

Alucard did not answer, and only leveled a completely neutral glare at the man. He held this silence for a moment, and then moved to lean against Abraham’s desk silently.

“Oh, um, uncle, he’s--” Arthur realized he had no idea what his uncle  _ knew _ , what his father had  _ told  _ him of Hellsing’s purpose. Or existence, for that matter. “Alucard isn’t a servant, he’s, well, a bit like a--, a brother?” he said, but his body revolted at the word. Alucard had never shown him any kind of fraternal love, and he couldn’t imagine that changing.

To his surprise, Alucard affirmed.

“Correct.”

“Ah, my mistake then,” Isaac dismissed, still dabbing at his shirt as Arthur used a tea towel to try to help his uncle. “I’m so sorry to hear I wasn’t able to be here for you in the days preceeding, nephew, they must have been very hard.”

“Er, yes.” Arthur thought of the past week, mostly spent in the city with his friends and at shows. “Very.”

“But I’m here now!” Isaac said boisterously, clapping a hand on his shoulder. “A voice of wisdom in this troubling time!”

"A doctorate does not a wise man make," Alucard snarled.

"You can say that after you've been through medical training," Isaac answered with strained humor.

"I have." Alucard said shortly. "It doesn't take a philosopher king to prescribe laxatives."

Isaac gave a strained laugh and muttered something.

Alucard almost began to snarl, but he maintained a human expression. "If you wish to insult me, please do so in a language we  _ all  _ can understand. After all, we are family, no? I wouldn't want Arthur to feel left out,  _ mijn vriend. _ " 

Isaac's face grew colored; the little dutch Alucard had uttered was unflawed. The vampire opened a desk drawer and drew out a file. 

"If you are concerned as to what your brother has left you in his will, here is a copy. You may read it yourself, and bring it to a solicitor in the morning. It is legitimate.”

Isaac accepted the papers with barely-concealed relish. His eyes tore over the text, hungrily seeking the section that mentions his name. He found it.

“ _ You!” _ Issac spat, “You--You’ve twisted it somehow! This--!”

“Is the document not to your satisfaction, Mr. van Helsing?” Alucard drawled. 

“There is no mention of the house, properties, anything, for anyone! Not even for my very deserving nephew, Arthur!”

“Of course not. They were not his to will away. They are mine.”  
“Yours?! _Yours?!_ You--you took advantage of my brother--in his illness you had him give you his properties!”

“I have done no such thing.” Alucard was infuriatingly cool, watching Issac’s red race sputter as he tried to come up with the relative pittance he was given. 

“You would deny it?! It is so obvious, my brother must have been delirious! You are in violation of the oath of Physicians! Perhaps if he had had a more  _ experienced _ physician he would be here to tell us  _ himself _ about this farce!"

The light in the room faded for a moment as the room’s lights flickered and dimmed. Issac blinked as he blamed the faulty electrics for the fact that Alucard’s dark eyes seemed to reflect an ominous amber. 

Alucard took a calming breath as the light steadied again. He did not address the insult. "You are suffering from a common misconception, Dr. van Helsing. Dragonwell Estate belongs to  _ me. _ It has  _ always _ belonged to me."

“You’re--” Isaac threw his head back and forth, seeking some solution. “Arthur! Nephew, tell this brigand off!”  
Arthur looked humiliated.

“It’s true, uncle.”

“ _ What?! _ ”

“Are you deaf as well as thick?” Alucard asked innocently. “He said it’s true.  _ I  _ am the Earl of Dragonwell. Fetch your solicitors, fetch the guard, fetch whomever you like. This is  _ my  _ property. This is  _ my _ home. You have been given your dues. Enjoy your stay, Dr. van Helsing.” 

Alucard turned and faced the fire again, watching the flames. Isaac crunched the papers in his fist. He sputtered, speechless. He looked to Arthur, who was looking at the floor, avoiding his eyes. He swore.

“This isn’t over, you  _ devil _ ,” he spat, and left the study, slamming the door behind him. 

Alucard took a breath, lifting his head and preparing for the pitiable storm. Three… Two… One--

“Dammit Alucard!” Arthur shouted, kicking the armchair. Alucard did not move.

“What, did you want to keep your surrogate father around a little longer?”

“You just drove my  _ only  _ other family away from me!”

“That man is hardly your family. You’d never even met the man before. He never sent you so much as a  _ letter.” _

“Are you determined to drive anything good out of my life?!”

“Good? You think that that cretin is _good?”_ Alucard’s eyebrows arched up as he turned towards him. “He’s trying to monetize Abraham’s death, is that what a _good_ man does?”  
“He’s just trying to make sure you didn’t take advantage of him.”

“Oh, is  _ that  _ all. Oh,  _ forgive  _ me Arthur, it seems I misjudged the man who  _ conveniently _ arrives just a  _ day _ after his brother’s death, when Abraham’s been writing for  _ decades  _ trying to convince him to visit! I’ve been sending invitations for  _ weeks _ .”

Arthur was shocked by this revelation, but it just made him angrier.

“ _ Weeks?! _ You never thought to tell me he hadn’t come after  _ weeks _ ?! You’re telling me this  _ now _ . You’re unbe- _ lievable _ !”

“Whoever comes or doesn’t come is their business, we shouldn’t care.”

“Well  _ I do! _ I want to know who my father knew--how many other relatives did you try to contact?”

Alucard bristled and his eyes flared with eerie light. 

“ _ Now _ you care?  _ Now _ ?! Where were you this past  _ year _ ? I’ve been trying to involve you the  _ entire  _ time!” Alucard started to count on his fingers. 

“Choosing the gravesite, designing the mausoleum, looking at epitaphs. Choosing invitees, overseeing the obituary, arranging the funeral, hiring for the wake, making the house suitable for guests, working with the Table, managing the properties.” He stopped counting. “And let’s not forget my  _ actual _ responsibilities: Managing the supernatural community, taking  _ care _ of Abraham, and, oh yes,  _ grieving _ . Where were  _ you,  _ Arthur? Oh, silly me.”

Alucard snarled a smile. 

“You were _at ‘the show’_. Because you couldn’t be bothered to set your hedonism aside for long enough to care about your own dying father.” Alucard rubbed at his eyes. “I don’t want to do this. I’m tired. And I’m angry. And Abraham is dead. I don’t want to spend the next weeks bickering with you, we need to work together.”  
“No. It’s clear I can’t trust you to tell me _anything_ of importance.”

Alucard snarled again. “Stop acting like a child!”

“Then start treating me like a man!”

“I have been! You’ve been shirking responsibility since the day you came back from that pauncy little school. If you can’t run this Organization, this house, or your position in the House of Lords, you need to tell me  _ now _ because I will not suffer an incompetent, lazy fool to waste my effort and blame me for it.”

“I’ll not be your slave like my father was!”  
Arthur staggered backwards and against the chair as Alucard grew to a sudden fury. His hair moved of its own accord, whipped about by an unfelt wind. His eyes were blazing fires of violent intent. His jaws fell open to reveal rows upon rows of needle-sharp teeth, and a snarl like a lion transformed to a resonant voice.

“ _ ARTHUR VAN HELSING, DO NOT SPEAK WITHOUT THOUGHT. _ ” 

After an eternal moment, the fangs disappeared as Alucard closed his mouth. His hair still whipped about his head, and his eyes pierced the man. A snarl of disgust remained on his face. 

“If you do not wish to remain as Head of Hellsing, you may go in peace and with support.” He turned back to the fire. Arhur stormed to the door and threw it open. 

“Arthur,” Alucard said with sudden pathos, and Arthur stopped. “When you called me brother, I had hoped for an instant that you had meant it.”

He said the words earnestly, but all Arthur saw was manipulation. 

He closed the door behind him, ignoring the searing gaze, leaving the Vampire alone. 

.

.

.

The funeral of Abraham van Helsing was attended by many: Students, colleagues, friends. He was a generous man, and made friends naturally and without limit. In the spirit of this unconditional generosity, no one was refused entry to the service, and the large chapel--Catholic--was packed full of his seemingly infinite friends. The windows were thrown open to let those standing outside listen to the service. 

Alucard sat silently on the front pew, devoid of all visible emotion. Arthur wished his heart were as stony as the vampire’s. Perhaps if it was, his hands would stop twitching towards his flask.

The worst part of this--worse than the suffocating heat, the ridiculous, over-blown speech, the wretched, pathetic sobbing somewhere behind him, the immobile personification of evil beside him--was the anger.

How dare his father leave him with this responsibility--with this curse. It was not his choice, this life, this obligation. He wanted to be anywhere in the world. Anywhere but here, sitting with this monster, with this physical embodiment of his curse, watching his father’s corpse be spoken over by his priest. All these people came for his father. His  _ father _ , who he could never hope to rival, who had left an unattainable legacy, an impossible task. 

After the service, and all the platitudes of the other mourners. Arthur van Helsing closed his bedroom door, and locked it. Then he fashioned several crude crucifixes, and placed them at his door, windows, and head of his bed. 

He did not sleep soundly.

Several stories beneath him, Dracula went to a corner of the basement, where a room had been walled off completely, save for a single narrow crevice between two bricks. He slipped through, barricaded against the world of humanity. He leaned against a corner, and slid down it and onto the floor. He pulled his knees to his chest, wrapped his arms around them, and wept like a child, spilling bloody tears out of his body as he roared his pain into an uncaring void.

.

.

.

Arthur van Helsing made several rebellions in the year immediately following his father’s death.

The first was a conversion from Catholicism. Alucard didn’t appear to notice, even though Arthur  _ knew _ the vampire could tell from the smell that the church he attended didn’t use censures or incense. 

He continued to spend an outlandish amount of time and money on women, shows, and alcohol. But Alucard was infuriatingly ambivalent to the fervor with which Arthur spent his funds and behaved recklessly. 

He was even in a car accident--drunk driving. It was a miracle no one was killed. Alucard had allowed Arthur to be taken care of by another doctor, and was entirely uninterested in the entire debacle.

It was, he realized, an effort to make the vampire angry with him again, to show his teeth, to give himself another opportunity to leave, before it was too late. Except he wasn’t reaching the vampire. Alucard still held the purse strings, and his behaviors were no threat to Alucard or to Hellsing. He was, he realized, throwing tantrums.

Like a child.

He reached for the brandy and poured himself another glass.

\-------------------------------

**Author's Note:**

> If this is the first time you've met my tiny public body of work, welcome! I love dracula, and the high concept of Hellsing. Actual execution of Hellsing and Dracula... not so much.  
> In my rewrite (or Revamp, haha) Dracula fulfilled his ultimate goal of **Getting a Collage Education** (read dracula, it'll make sense. The whole reason he came to England was because he was a Huge Nerd) by agreeing to join with Abraham in an apprenticeship. That eventually morphs into a more complicated position establishing a more systematic community of Medians, an estate and earldom, a place in the House of Lords, a place on the Round Table.  
> But remember! DRACULA bought that manor with HIS OWN money. The property (and the titles with it) are technically HIS. Not exactly the horny slave relationship we all know and love from OG Hellsing. Sorry.


End file.
